Egg carton



May 7, 1935. 1 BE'NOIT 1 2,000,738

EGG CARTON I Filed Aug. 31, 1931 v 2 sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May `7,1935 UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE EGG CARTON Leon Benoit, Chicago, Ill.vApplication August 31, 1931, Serial No. 560,2845

(Cl. 22S- 29) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a cellular container for eggs capable ofserving either as a fillery or a carton, according to the use' to which'it is put. The improvements are directed to features impartingsimplicity and strength, ease with which its components may beassembled, and enhanced protection which is afforded to the eggs orother articles which are received Within the container.

These and other objects are realizedl by my invention, a suggestiveembodiment whereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in thmanner following:

Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of the container;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of one of the crbss walls;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the container;

Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective View showing a modification in theconstruction of the con-I tainer;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the cross walls illustrated inFig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section through a container having a furthermodified construction.

Referring firstv to the construction of Figs. l, 2 and 3, I have shown ablank A of suitable fibrous resilient material having certain parallelbend lines a, b, c, d and e defining in the setup structure a front wallIIl, a slanting bottom Il, two steeply inclined longitudinal walls |2and I3 forming a central partition, also a second slanting bottom I4,and a rear wall I5. If desired, the last wall may be extended to providea top Hiv from which depends a ap having, if desired, a locking tongueI' receivable through a slit I9 in the front wall. The blank which isformed to provide these several walls may be of suitable dimensions toproduce a carton of standard size, preferably a 2x6 having a capacityfor one dozen eggsI or other articles.

Formed in the blank at equi-distant intervals are certain alignedtransverse slots 20, 2| and 22, arranged three in a series.. The s1ot'20extends from close to the bend line b practically all of the way acrossthe bottom towards the bend linea. The slot 22 which is formed in theother bottom section |4 is similarly disposed.

` The remaining slot 2| extends from the bend line c, the ridge ofthe'central partition, down the two walls l2 and I3 for an appreciabledistance, terminating a considerable distance from the bend lines b andd.A A plurality of such slots, arranged three in a series as abovedescribed, are provided, one for each of the cross walls B whichsubdivide the interior of the container into cells. y l f f Referringnow to Fig. `2, each cross 1Wallis in the general'iorm` of` arectangular,l card having vertical ends25 and 26, Iand horizontal topand bottom edges 21 and 28 respectively.` The bottom edge at each of itsopposite ends is notched by a horizontal incision 29 extending inwardlyto join Witha vertical incision 3|!y which proceeds inwardly lfrom thebottom edge. h Extend- Ving inwardlyvfrom the bottom edge centrally ofthe Wall is a flaring opening defined by a pair of converging edges 3|forming an angle .with other horizontal edges 32 constitutinga pair ofshoulders, there being still other edges 33 slightly inclined towardeachother extending upwardly to join with a top horizontal edge 34. By theconstruction just described, the several edges k32, 33 and 34 d ene anopening in the body of the cross Wall in the general form of a truncatedtriangle having an entering slot midway of its base.

A blank A together with a plurality of cross walls B,'as hereinbeforedescribed, may be conveniently assembled to produce a cellularcontainer, as shown in Fig. l.` In set-up condition, each cross Wallextends in part through one of the series of slots. 20, 2|, and 22,`thebottom edges of `the cross wall being disposed through the slots 2|)and 22, and the portion of the cross wall body above the truncatedopening being receivable through the slots 2| in .both walls of thecentral partition. The arrangement of the parts is such thatthefpartition portions lying between the central slots 2|, and thebottom. slots 20 and 22 are received within the truncated openings ofthe cross walls where they lie adjacent and parallel to the inclinededges 33, as indicated best in Fig. 3. 'I'hese portionsl of the blankare rested upon the shoulders 32 so as to derive support therefrom andbe held against displacement from the position shown.

The bottom portions of the blank beyond the slots 2|)` and 22 itinto thenotches at the ends of the cross wall bottoms so as to rest against theedges 2,9 and 3|), as shown. `The ridge formed at the bend c may belocated'in a plane sub` stantially even with the top edges of the frontand rear walls I0 and 5, so that if a cover I6 be extended fromthe'latter, it may lie across the container and engage with the ridge,also downward pressure which might injuriously affect articles restedwithin the container cells.

`In the modiedform shown in Figs. 4 and 5, inclusive, I may utilize ablank C having certain parallel bend lines u, v, w, y and z whichdefinebetween them and the upper edges of the container sections 40, 4I, 42,43, 44 and 45, the latter constituting the carton rear Wall which mayoptionally be extended past a bend line z' to provide a cover 46 havingat its free edge a depending flap 41 with a tongue 48 receivable througha slot 49 in the section 40 whichfconstitutes the front Wall of thecontainer. With such a blank I assemble a plurality of cross walls Deach having a central truncated opening 50 with oppositely inclinededges 5I proceeding from spaced aligned shoulders 52, there being anentering slot 53, all very similar to the cross wall shown in Fig. 2.The opposite ends of the cross walls, however, are each slanted inwardlyto a slight extent as at 54 to join with a shoulder 55 forming an offsetapproximately half Way between the upper and lower edges of each wall.

Formed in the carton blank are a plurality of transverse slots similarto those shown in Fig. 1, the ends of the central slot 56 terminating at51, the remaining slots 58 and 59 being each extended from' close to thebend lines v and :c to a point which lies adjacent the cross wallshoulder 55. With the several cross walls tted in place, the centralpartition defined by the walls 42 and 43 of the blank is received inpart within the truncated openingsy 50, of the cross walls so as to lieparallel and adjacent to their 'edges 5I, and the lower portions of theblank,

. ends of .the slots 58 and 59 being suspended upon the shoulders 52 and55, respectively. The provision of bottom end lines `u and y results inthe formation of a pair of troughs each adapted to be rounded outsomewhat in conformity with the shape of the article placed therein, as,for example, an egg. The contents'of each slot are maintained insuspension above the bottom plane of the container, due to the hookingof the two troughs upon the shoulders 52 and 55 of the cross walls; InFig. 6, I have illustrated the same construction modified to the extentthat the blank consists of two independent parts which meet inunconnected fashion at the centralridge.

`The feature of suspension is present in both forms of carton which Ihave described herein. In the one case, Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, one endof each bottom section is maintained in an elevated position by supportfrom the shoulders 32. When required to support a load, as, forinstance, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the front and' rear wallsof the container are prevented from pulling in toward the centerpartition in response to imposition of the load upon the bottom walls.-This is due to provision of the vertical shoulders 30 vnear the ends ofthe bottom edge. A like principle of suspension is utilized in the otherconstruction shown in Figs. band 6 wherein the shoulders and oppositeends of each trough perform similarly.

The container which I have herein described may be made inexpensivelywith an expeditious assembly of its components. Thev parts will normallyremain in assembled condition due to the .engagement of the containerbottom sections 1. A container in which is comprised a blank havingaligned series of slots, together with parallel bends defining front andrear walls with intermediate pairs of slanting bottom walls, togetherwith connected partition walls extending centrally of the container, anda plurality of separable, bifurcated cross walls, one for each series ofslots, and each wall provided in its body with a central truncatedopening with opposite slanting edges and a base Aformed of two alignedbut spaced shoulders between which an entrance slot is extended throughto the bottom edge of the cross wall, there being also at each of theopposite edges of the cross wall a further shoulder, the blank beingassembled with the cross walls in such manner as to receive one of thelatter through each of the aligned series of slots with unslottedportions of the blank accommodated within the truncated opening adjacentits opposite slanting edges and supported upon the shoulders thereof,and with other unslotted portions of the blank rested against theshoulders at opposite edges of each portion of the bifurcated cross wallwhereby intervening portions of theblank are suspended in distendedrelation above the bottom plane of the cross walls.

2. A container in which is comprised two sets of intersecting wallsdefining a plurality of cells, one set vof walls beinglformed with aseries of aligned slots, and the other set of walls being individuallyseparable and provided on each side of their vertical centers withoppositely facing internaland external shoulders adapted to intert withthe first set of walls through insertion of portions of their bodieswithin the' aligned slots thereof, the shoulders, both internalandexternal, engaging the slot ends in a manner to sustain with a desiredsuspension the intervening portions of the walls having the alignedslots.

3. A cellular holder for eggs and the like, comprising parallel folded,slotted blank portions meeting at a ridge centrally of the holder,

and separable, bifurcated cross walls straddlingv said vridge andextending into said slotted blank portions dividing said portions of theholder into .a plurality of cells, each bifurcated'portion of the crosswalls having inner and outer edge portions providing laterally spacedshoulders adapted to interlock with slots of the associated blankportions, whereby to shape and support said blank portions in definitelyspaced relation to each other.`

LEON BENOIT.

